79 replies to this topic

[PsFs]

Well, it happened!!  The gala event has come and gone, and I will let CarolinaM give you the details when she gets back on the site since she actually attended it (I haven't yet checked to see if she has openned a new thread with the info...  so, OK, I am a little slow about this forum stuff!! ).  She and I met the morning after for coffee, and for me there didn't seem to be a lot of really new information, but we DID happen to meet Ángel's father just outside the Angel Corella Dance Store next to the Teatro Real.  When I inquired about whether Ángel would be missing the first Madrid auditions due to his dance schedule in Chicago, he affirmed that Ángel would be at ALL the auditions, even the Saturday morning one, and did not seem to be aware that there was a "schedule conflict" (nor is there any private jet!!)....perhaps he will change his performance schedule with ABT in Chicago?????   As you can see, not all the details are  yet clear, so keep watching for updates as things become more concrete!!

I was very disappointed that none of the major national newspapers carried anything about the gala or the project--a sad commentary on how much Spain (at least the Spanish press) is clueless when it comes to ballet and this, their own shining international star.  Luckily, there were at least 3 or 4 smaller regional papers that had great articles online about the event and the project.  As reported, the Angel Corella Foundation expects to work with an estimated 10million € ($13.3)  budget, 6 for the new company and 3+ for the school.   As for the school, set to start for the fall of 2008, the general reaction to the announced cost of attending it among ballet forum folks in Spain is one of dismay and shock:  35,000€ (something like $45,000)  is the annual fee!  
However, it was stated that no child with the right physical conditions would be left out because of the money... the family would pay according to their ability, and scholarships would cover the rest... so that this would not be a school solely for the wealthy/elite.  What does a boarding school dedicated to the arts cost per annum in the US?  Anybody know?

I guess that is about it for the moment--  hope this is useful for you all!

[pj]

Cost for one of the ballet residencies in the United States (including boarding, academics and ballet training) is $30,000+ (I don't have the exact figures, but know this amount is reasonably ballpark).  I believe this particular program is not one of the most expensive in the country.

[CarolinaM]

Hi! I’m sorry I have no time to post and explain but I’m happy to see that PsFs has told you a bit. By the way, it has been very nice and I’m very happy to have had the opportunity to meet you PsFs  

It has been a very beautiful Gala and a very busy time for me in Madrid. Now, back to normal life I’m trying to find time for working on the report for fotoescena. As I’m also planning to translate it into English (maybe a sum up of it) I will link it here, I hope by end of this week.

Thanks a lot for your interest and patience  

[sz]

PsFs, on Feb 20 2007, 01:44 PM, said:

As for the school, set to start for the fall of 2008, the general reaction to the announced cost of attending it among ballet forum folks in Spain is one of dismay and shock:  35,000€ (something like $45,000)  is the annual fee! However, even Angel's father assured us that no child with the right physical conditions would be left out because of the money... the family would pay according to their ability, and scholarships would cover the rest... so that this would not be a school solely for the wealthy/elite.  What

Thank you so much, PsFs, for your news from Spain!  

My experience with SAB (school for NYCB) is that different talents merit different scholarships - the fees parents pay vary greatly depending on the potential of the student.  Then SAB takes into account the family's financial situation.  Very generally speaking, SAB charges $10,000 per year for ballet training and dorm residence for teenage students whose parents are a long distance away. Then Professional Children's School (academic education) takes another $10-$15,000 if the student requires that sort of accommodation as most do if they are in the higher levels of classes at SAB before becoming professional dancers.  But I'm emphasizing again that this all depends on the student's talent and age at which he/she is accepted into SAB.  I know dancers whose families have paid less and families who have paid much more.

[CarolinaM]

Thanks a lot to Ballet Talk and to Carbro for opening this new thread  

Ballet Talk > Ballet Companies, Performances, and Reviews > European Ballet Companies > Compañía Ballet de España

It has been very moving for me to see this.

[Azulynn]

I just noticed that information in an interview with Tamara Rojo published by The Telegraph : she intends to found another ballet company in Spain in "3, 4 or 5 years", which would be "the right one".

Quote

In "three, four or five years", she will go back to her land and establish a Royal Ballet of Spain, much on Royal Ballet lines. She is not troubled that her compatriot, Angel Corella from American Ballet Theatre, is ahead of her in setting up a Spanish company. "I don't want my company to be the first one; I want it to be the right one," she says, and it is impossible to doubt that it will be.

Source : You'll believe this swan can fly

Isn't it weird that Spain shall end up with two ballet companies in the end ? Too bad there seems to be a kind of competition between the projects, instead of having everyone work together to build a world-class company.

[bart]

I'm looking forward to hearing and learning more and more about the rise of classical ballet in Spain.

Azulynn's Link to the story on Rojo shows very clearly how difficult it can be for talented young dancers growing up in a country without a School and without at least one Company of its own.

Quote

All the other ballerinas had been trained in the world's great stylistic "schools" - Darcey Bussell in the Royal Ballet, Sylvie Guillem in Paris, Alina Cojocaru in Russia's Vaganova system. Rojo had come merely from a clever technical teacher in Spain - a country with no ballet - and then made her name touring with Scottish Ballet and English National Ballet.

She was in the position of a home-educated person joining a company where everyone came from Oxbridge.

Rojo's career -- and Corella's -- shows that it is possible for exceptional individuals to overcome the disadvdantages and still reach the pinnacles of the ballet world.  But I wonder how many others dropped out, possibly discouraged, along the way.  In a few years, one hopes, a new generation of young Spanish classical dancers will have more support at home.

[CarolinaM]

The English version of the report about the presentation of the "Ballet de España" and Dance School has been published today in fotoescena.

Thanks Ángel! Congratulations Spain!

Hope you like it!  

[bart]

Thank you, CarolinaM, for the link to Fotoscena -- and for the site's excellent English-language reportage of this important story.

I have a few impressions:

First of all, the photos of the Gala -- especially the performance shots of Corella and his partner Leticia Giuliani -- are vivid and beautiful.

I was reallly struck by the comment that more than 200 Spanish classical dancers are known to have been forced to seek employment in companies outside their own country, and that there are no doubt many more whose names have not been collected.    This is terribly sad, and I trust it will soon change.

I'm impressed by the scope and ambition of the plans for the new Ballet de Espana.For example:  

Quote

The company will have between 70 and 80 dancers as follows: 10 Principals, 10 Soloists, 40/50 corps de ballet and 10 apprentices

The Artistic Director will be the Foundation President, Ángel Corella who will be assisted by a team of the people necessary to run such a company: Assistant Director, Production Director, teachers, designers, physical therapists, pianists, etc. There will also be guest artists selected from among the best dancers in the world. Some of them are familiar with the project and have already shown interest in participating in it.

And the planned rep, combining classics and contemporary ballet:

Quote

The ballet programming has already been set for the next 4 years, starting in 2008 with one classical production, “La Bayadère”, and two repertoire productions (Balanchine, Christopher Wheldon, Twyla Tharp, Stanon Welch, etc.). By 2011 the plans are to do three classical dance productions and four of repertoire.

And, that there will be a School -- something that many on our "What are the 5 or 10 best companies" thread insist is esssential for the creation of a great company with a consistent style:

Quote

The school will be where all the administrative and instructional work of this international project is carried out. As a boarding school, the goal is to host from 100 to 150 students ranging in age from 11-12 to 17-18 years old.

I love the fact, also, that they will tour throughout Spain on a regular basis.  Since the company and school will be based outside Madrid, I hope they will be able to establish a regular performance schedule in each of the most important cities:  Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Sevilla, Bilbao ... and others?   On a smaller scale, Miami City Ballet does each of its regular programs in 4 south Florida cities that have large and modern opera houses.  MCB doesn't just rent a theater at each location.  All 4 locations have representatives on the MCB board and their own fund-raising campaigns.  This might be a model for the Ballet de Espana, especially since it will have to learn to put together funding from a number of different souces.

I was wondering:  how much publicity is this project receiving in the ballet community in the rest of Europe and in Latin America?  The fact that employment will be open to non-Spanish dancers (an EU requirement, I imagine) should increase interest in many countries.

[CarolinaM]

Thak you very much Bart!

Yes, the photos are really beautiful, Jesús Vallinas is, no doubt, the best Spanish Dance Photograph.

Also it is so sad that dancers are forced to emigrate in Spain. We hope that with the new "Ballet de España" Company, the "Ballet de Canarias" and maybe with the one Tamara Rojo plans also to run, they can, if they want, stay in their country.

As far as English is concerned, it is good, yes, but this is thanks to PsFs who has kindly helped us with this

Corella is really ambitious but lets cross our fingers so that all comes true.  This is really a dream of us all Spaniards ballet lovers.

"Bart" said:

I was wondering: how much publicity is this project receiving in the ballet community in the rest of Europe and in Latin America? The fact that employment will be open to non-Spanish dancers (an EU requirement, I imagine) should increase interest in many countries.

Dance Europe has made some but I don't know any more media or sites talking about it. And even in Spain there has not been the publicity one expects to find about this so important new.

Really a pitty.

[4mrdncr]

OTHER MEDIA interest...

There was also a full page article in the Winter 2006-2007 issue of "Dance International".  The grammer was a little iffy, there was an egregious photo flip (Corella & Vishneva in R&J), but the info about the new company and school was presented.  There was also mention of an "American Friends of...(?) the ACF? or Angel Corella?" etc. to generate foreign 'investment/interest' in the company, but I have never seen any other info regarding such an organization---or an english version of the entire AC website, not just the audition registration form.

Of course I am still astonished that no American media print outlets have written anything...not even a few lines in small print on a back page; puzzling.  At least online, there is CarolinaM and PsFs to keep us informed and of course Jesus Vallinas / Fotoescena's beautiful photographs too.

How can I possibly express my thanks for posting the comments/articles/links, and express my best wishes to all for the future of this endeavor.

[bart]

Long ago, when we began this thread, there was a "?" at the end of the idea of a new national company.

But now the new Ballet de Espana is underway, so it's time to start new threads to discuss news, present, ideas, etc., about this historical development.  

To get this forum really going, I have split off several posts having to do with the auditions for company dancers and started a new thread on the "Compania Ballet de Espana" forum.    That's the place to post on the auditions process.  And please feel free to start other threads of your own.  Just go to the "Compania Ballet de Espana" index page and click "New Topic."  The instructions on how to proceed are easy (even for me!).

[Grissi]

When we started this thread we discussed about two new projects: Corella's, now a reality, and Tamara Rojo's. The future of the latter is uncertain. In an interview last week Tamara said that she does not know anything about the proposal, that all the good words she got at the first moment have become silence...
It will be a good thing to have two professional ballet companies to compete in Spain. Please, politicians, wake up!

[CarolinaM]

Grissi, on May 16 2007, 02:54 AM, said:

When we started this thread we discussed about two new projects: Corella's, now a reality, and Tamara Rojo's. The future of the latter is uncertain. In an interview last week Tamara said that she does not know anything about the proposal, that all the good words she got at the first moment have become silence...
It will be a good thing to have two professional ballet companies to compete in Spain. Please, politicians, wake up!

Oh yes! but one in Barcelona, please...

Yesterday I went to the premiere of the Mussorgski's opera "Khovanchina" and the Slave dance was awfully performed. From where do they get the dancers for ballet in operas? Only in very few occasions we have seen good dance i.e. Corella/Guliani "La Gioconda, Julio Bocca and his ballet in Enrique VIII, and I do not remerber any other and this in nearly ten years in the rebuilt Gran Teatre (maybe I forget or do not know about one or two but no more for sure)  

But anyway, we could still have three!

No, I'm dreaming, for the time being let's cross our fingers so that Corella gets all the support he needs from both the mecenas and the government or the Royal House who are who can make that the economical power is confident on the project and see that investing on it will give them an appreciated cultural status.

[Grissi]

Yes, of course, one in Barcelona.
Carolina, that is a good question: where do they get those dancers that take part in operas? At the conservatories? Very good question, indeed.